Simon Chapman

THE MONSTER OF THE MADIDI

Searching for the Giant Ape of the Bolivian Jungle

Simon Chapman is a self-confessed jungle addict, who has made a number
of previous expeditions in various parts of the world when on holiday
from his work as a school physics teacher. Little was known about the
regions he intended to travel in, the main description being due to
Colonel Fawcett, who disappeared when searching for a lost city in the
Brazilian jungle in 1925. The pretext for the adventure described in
this book was a search for an ape, the Mono Rey or King Monkey, reputed
to live in the Bolivian jungle. The chief evidence for its existence was
a photograph of an animal shot in 1920 by an expedition led by a Swiss
geologist called Francis de Loys. This creature was allegedly one of
two that attacked the expedition, but the picture might be a fake or
might show merely a large spider monkey; it was impossible to know.

Chapman was accompanied on his journey by Julian, another Englishman
with jungle experience. Julian invited an Australian called Charlie to
join them, which proved to be a mistake. Charlie was a keen but not
wholly successful angler, who smoked large amounts of hashish and
consequently kept forgetting his kit and having to go back for it; he
later dropped out when his feet became infected. The party was initially
led by a local guide who kept demanding chocolate pudding before he
would continue; later he was replaced by another guide who seemed to be
more reliable. Chapman had a collapsible canoe to which he was attached
and which, not surprisingly, failed to stand up completely to the
rigours of the journey.

The book is rather low-key to begin with but improves once the actual
journey gets underway. Chapman's writing evokes a vivid impression of
life in the jungle and his word pictures are supplemented with some nice
line drawings of his own. There are plenty of incidents. Charlie gets
lost at one time and so does Chapman himself; this sounds like a
genuinely terrifying experience. A number of close encounters with
animals occur, including tapirs, giant otters, and snakes, not to
mention swarms of stinging and biting insects, though the most
frightening creature was a small fish that has the unpleasant habit of
inserting itself into body orifices such as the urethra and lodging
itself there by expanding its spines.

I don't think I am giving away any
secret by saying that the mystery of the King Monkey isn't definitely
solved. The party does encounter some large and aggressive spider
monkeys, which may perhaps be a different species or subspecies, and
conceivably this was the King Monkey. On the other hand, this elusive
creature could also have been a bear, which is the view that Chapman
tends to favour.

This being the twenty-first century, there is a good deal of logging
going on in the jungle and the forest is clearly under threat; but
Chapman thinks that parts, at least, are sufficiently remote and
inaccessible to ensure they will survive. Let's hope he is right.

This is a very English kind of travel book: humorous and
self-deprecating. The blurb invites comparison with Eric Newby, which I
think is over-ambitious, but it is an agreeable enough read in its own
right.